As we anticipate the coming holiday season, our #TrowelTuesday for December will feature artifacts related to this festive occasion. For this week, we highlight the earthenware pedestalled bowls recovered from various archaeological sites in the country.

Do you ever wonder how precolonial Filipinos served their dishes in the past during festive events?

The pedestalled bowl is one of the distinct pottery forms found in many archaeological sites in the Philippines. Also known as footed or presentation dish, this pottery vessel is characterized by its shallow bowl form and high ring foot attached to its base. Pedestalled vessels were part of the earliest ceramic assemblage in the Philippines that initially appeared in the Batanes Islands, dating around 2000 Before Common Era (BCE). From around 500 BCE to 500 Common Era (CE), pedestalled bowls were quite widespread and mostly found in funerary contexts. They came in different sizes and styles, particularly the decorations on the high ring foot. The most common is the triangular cut-outs featured in the pottery recovered in Batangas, northern Palawan, Gigantes Islands, and Maitum in Sarangani.

What do you think is the function of these pedestalled bowls? 

Inferring from the ethnographic accounts in the Philippines and neighboring Southeast Asian regions, it seems that such vessels have a ceremonial and prestigious role. Based on the early 20th century accounts of American anthropologist Fay-Cooper Cole, among the Tinguian, a wooden pedestalled dish called dias was a necessary object for the marriage ritual as a container for the cooked rice. For the Maranao and Maguindanao of the southern Philippines, brass pedestalled trays known as tabak are also similar to the pottery vessel in terms of form. These objects are used as serving platters for food on very special occasions. High-footed trays or dishes known as dulang are also found in Bali, Indonesia, which are used on ceremonial occasions to carry offerings.

Were these earthenware pedestalled bowls used to contain ceremonial foodstuffs in the past? 

Laura Junker’s archaeological research revealed that feasting is a part of the ceremonial life in early Philippine societies which displays ritual and social prestige. Aside from the dishes served for the community, feast-related objects such as ceramic vessels were included in this lavish presentation. Pedestalled bowls may have played a role in the precolonial ritual feasting, both as an offering to the spirits and as a display of prestige. Although we can only infer from the archaeological studies, our practice of displaying food during special events such as Christmas has roots in our past. It may also reveal another aspect of Filipino culture, which is the tradition of sharing during the festive season.

The earthenware pedestalled bowl, along with other artifacts, can be viewed in the Palayok: The Ceramic Heritage of the Philippines gallery of the National Museum of Anthropology. Book your visit or explore our collections and exhibitions online through this website.

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Text and poster by Timothy James Vitales | NMP Archaeology Division

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

Au! It’s Gold!

This week on #MaritimeMonday, your #NationalMuseumPH highlights the gold finds from the San Diego shipwreck. San Diego sank on December 14, 1600 near Fortune Island, Batangas after defeat by the Dutch ship Mauritius. Read more about the vessel’s story here: https://tinyurl.com/SagaOfTheSanDiego 

The gold items from San Diego confirm the worldwide contacts that the Philippines had during the 16th century CE (Common Era). They also provide insights into the culture and interactions between Europeans and Filipinos during this period. The neck ring, a probable indication of Southeast Asian tradition, was reportedly the first to be seen in any Philippine archaeological site. The long woven necklace has a bulky appearance but light in weight. This necklace is said to be associated with porcelain of Ming period (1368–1644). The dress ornament has a Renaissance-style that was depicted in many portraits. 

The book clasp was for a girdle prayer-book which was considered fashionable in Europe during the 16th century CE. The gold coin is identified as Islamic struck in Johor under Sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat Shah II (1571–1597). One particular historical interest is the gold seal of Captain Antonio De Morga, a declared National Cultural Treasure, which is featured on previous #MaritimeMonday post: https://tinyurl.com/DeMorgaSeal. This find proves with certainty that the wreck found is indeed San Diego.

The gold artifacts excavated in the Butuan archaeological site dated around 8th century CE are evidence of gold’s early manufacture and use in the Philippines. The peak of the gold industry in the Philippines was identified to be from the 9th to 14th centuries, where gold ornaments became established as a classic tradition. During the 16th century, Manila had become a central entrepôt in the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade where gold was one of the portable medium of exchange. Goldsmiths in Manila were mostly natives with a number of Chinese and other Asian craftsmen.

Your #NationalMuseumPH is now open to the public. While the San Diego gallery undergoes reconstruction, you may see and appreciate other significant shipwreck artifacts in the ‘300 Years of Maritime Trade in the Philippines’ exhibit located at the National Museum of Anthropology. You may book a slot through this website. Remember to #KeepSafe by practicing minimum health protocols while viewing our galleries. You may also experience the virtual tour of the exhibit by clicking on this link: https://tinyurl.com/300YearsOfMaritimeTradePH 

#StaySafe

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#SanDiegoShipwreck

#GoldFinds

Text and poster by the NMP Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage Division.

©National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

Salve Regina!

In celebration of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on December 8, today’s #ArtStrollSunday series features the “La Inmaculada Concepción,” a late 19^th century painting from the National Fine Arts Collection (NFAC).

During the Spanish colonial period, Chinese mestizos and Indio artisans were trained by friars to adorn churches. The process of instruction and learning was through copying available statues and paintings from Spain and Mexico. An unknown artist painted this Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) based on the 1678 painting done by Spanish painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Javellana, 2020), who painted several versions of the Immaculate Conception. This work, displayed at the Ramon and Milagros Del Rosario Family Hall of the National Museum of Fine Arts, depicted the BVM wearing a white tunic and dark blue cape standing on a globe crushing the devil’s head, with her hands clasped in prayer. Heads of five angels are seen on the base of the painting. 

Remaining anonymous was a practice observed by Filipino artists trained by Spanish religious leaders. This belief came from the idea that not signing their works will reap rewards in the afterlife, doing otherwise was a form of self-assertion. 

On December 8, Wednesday, the Philippines, a dominantly Catholic country, celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary—the conception of the BVM in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne. This day is a Special non-working holiday for Filipinos.  It is one of the most important Marian feasts in the Philippines and the Roman Liturgical calendar. La Inmaculada Concepción, or the Immaculate Conception, is the principal patroness of Manila and the whole country. 

Visit this painting by booking online through this website. In the meantime, you may view the 360-degrees virtual tour of the Ramon and Milagros Del Rosario Family Hall on this website and download for free the NMP publication, “The Philippine Colonial Tradition of Sacred Art: Treasures of Philippine Art from the Collections of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the National Museum of the Philippines by René B. Javellana, SJ.”  

Text by NMP FAD

Photo by Bengy Toda

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#ArtStrollSunday

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© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

Happy Friday! In today’s #DignayanBiyernes, let us talk about the third most consumed industrial metal in the world– copper. 

Copper is the 29^th element in the periodic table with a chemical symbol of Cu (from Latin “cuprum”). It is an important industrial metal because of its wide range of applications. It is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity, has high ductility, malleability, and corrosion resistance.  Large amounts are also used to make alloys such as brass (copper and zinc), bronze (copper, tin and zinc), and with other precious metals such as silver and gold. 

Do you know that the oldest and the very first metal discovered by man is copper? Its discovery dates back to prehistoric times. With the absence of modern knowledge on metallurgy, early societies valued it mostly for its aesthetic qualities using it like gold and silver for ornaments.  

The Philippines is one of the countries blessed with large amounts of metallic and non-metallic mineral resources. Among these, copper has the largest reserve estimated at 4 billion metric tons. This makes us the fourth largest country in the world in terms of copper reserves. 

It is found in ore deposits around the world and must be extracted or smelted first before it can be used. In our country, its occurrence is widely distributed and can be found in Benguet, Kalinga, Nueva Vizcaya, Marinduque, Cebu, Compostela Valley and Rapu-Rapu among others. 

If you want to know more about copper and the rest of our mineral collections, visit us at the National Museum of Natural History by booking through this website.

#StaySafeStayHealthy

#GetVaccinated

#BeatCOVID19

Text and image by the NMP Geology and Paleontology Division

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

Concluding the series on concepts on death and mortuary practices, today’s #TrowelTuesday features memorials and other ways of remembering the departed as well as events, through an archaeological perspective.

Fateful events in history such as wars, heroic deaths, and major catastrophes often inspire or serve as an important lesson to the community or generation that remembers them. Such events are often memorialized through transforming spaces and landscapes by erecting structures like shrines and monuments. The creation of memorials is a common practice across different cultures, serving as their way of coping with grief associated to tragedy.

In the Philippines, major events that caused the lives of many are honored with memorial shrines, like the Pinaglabanan Shrine in San Juan City, Dambana ng Kagitingan in Bataan, Martial Law Memorial Wall in Manila, and Yolanda Memorial Monument in Tacloban City.

In the context of Philippine prehistory, memorializing the dead is not materialized in monumental structures, unlike in other cultures of the wider Austronesian region who practiced building megalithic structures for the same spiritual and cosmological purpose. Archaeologists argue that the lack of prehistoric megalithic structures in the country may be attributed to its landscape, constant extreme weather disturbances, and being a hotspot of volcanic and seismic activities. Instead, our ancestors honored the dead through peculiar grave markers and burial vessels.

For instance, in prehistoric burial sites of Batanes and Catanauan in Quezon, boat-shaped burial markers made of stones and coral slabs arranged low on the ground were observed. For the prehistoric maritime communities of Southeast Asia, the boat symbolizes the spiritual journey of the soul into the afterlife. In other burial sites such as Calatagan in Batangas and Bolinao in Pangasinan, giant clam shells and brain corals were utilized as grave markers. Motifs and depictions on burial vessels can also be viewed as our ancestors’ way of remembering the dead, like the Maitum anthropomorphic burial jars and Kulaman Plateau limestone urns which depict images of the departed.

Your #NationalMuseumPH is now open to visitors of all ages. Book a slot for your visit or explore our collections and exhibitions through this website.

#MemorializingTheDead

#MuseumFromHome

#VictoryAndHumanity

#YearOfFilipinoPrecolonialAncestors

Text by Ivan Cultura and poster by Timothy James Vitales | NMP Archaeology Division

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)